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We Sit Down With The Gentlemen Of NYC's 'In Loving Memory'

The grunge era of music is gone with bands like Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots long broken up, and guitar solos no longer scream over the airwaves like they did in the '80s. However, heavy metal enthusiasts will be pleasantly surprised that there is an up and coming band from New York City that has its own sound.

I was introduced to In Loving Memory via Facebook, when the lead singer Naveed asked if I would view the band's video and let me know what I thought. Being on the continuous quest for new music, of course I checked it out. I have this belief that most heavy metal singers have great singing voices (as well as that heavy screaming voice); it was true with Naveed and I was instantly a fan of the group with their lyrics and sound.

Here is the Q&A with the band:

1. Who are the members in the group and where are you from?

Jon: My name is Jon Conway and I bend the strings for In Loving Memory. I live in Levittown, New York.

Naveed: My name is Naveed Stone and I'm the vocalist for In Loving Memory. I was born and raised in Queens, New York.

Thomas: My name's Thomas Diognardi and I play the drums and produce for In Loving Memory! Im from Bethpage, NY which is on Long Island (which is basically a big island next to New York City).

Vito: My name is Vito Racanelli and I am the guitar player. I reign from Levittown, New York, which is in Long Island.

2. How did you come up with the name In Loving Memory? Did you always know you were going to be a heavy metal band?

Naveed: Well I'm the one who came up with the name as In Loving Memory was originally my solo project where I wrote and recorded the music. To me, the name embodies the idea of embracing and learning from your past and using that to push you forward. That's actually how I would describe us coming together as a band. The rest of the guys were in a band called Insanium that needed a new singer when they found me from my Youtube videos. I was always on the lookout for the right members to turn In Loving Memory into a full band with. When I decided that I found that with these guys, we decided to move forward with this new endeavor and here we are about half a year later.

3. What is your favorite place to perform? (Location)

Two places we all love to perform at are Revolution Bar and Amityville Music Hall, both located in Long Island. The venues have great staff, the sound is superior, and the flow of the shows is always really smooth and professional! They're also very popular local spots where you really see the sense of community among bands and fans alike.

Thomas: One of my biggest influences is Periphery. But a bunch of others would be Protest the Hero, Avenged Sevenfold, Iron Maiden, Paramore, Destiny Potato, Tonight Alive, Pierce the Veil, etc.

Vito: Some of the artists I'm influenced by are Issues, Periphery, Protest the hero, After The Burial, Guthrie Govan, Pierce the Veil, Dance Gavin Dance, Cacophony, A Day To Remember, Meshuggah, TOOL, Tesseract, Between The Buried And Me, The Word Alive and A7X (to name a few).

Jon: Definitely A7X, but right now I'm very inspired by Issues, Periphery, and The Word Alive in terms of guitar work.

5. Who would you like to go on tour with? (I vote Avenged Sevenfold...but that's just me)

Naveed: Absolute dream bands to tour with would definitely be Avenged Sevenfold, Asking Alexandria, Black Veil Brides, All Time Low. Other bands who I could realistically see us touring with years down the line and meshing with would be Issues, Get Scared, Periphery, Alive Like Me, Miss Fortune, Crown The Empire.

Thomas: Avenged Sevenfold would be great! I think we'd also work very nicely touring with bands like Hands Like Houses, Issues, Marmozets and Miss Fortune.

Vito: The Word Alive would be pretty dope! Along with Issues, Marmozets, A Day to Remember, and Avenged Sevenfold of course haha.

Jon: Avenged Sevenfold would be wonderful down the line, but Issues would be a dream within the next few years!

6. If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only have three things, what would they be?

7. What is your favorite song? Not necessarily one you play, just in general.

Naveed: Probably "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's. That song is what made me want to pick up the guitar and start writing songs when I heard it in 7th grade.

Thomas: As hard as it is to pick a favorite song, if I had to choose I'd honestly go with "1000 Miles" by Vanessa Carlton.

Vito: Because i would give myself an aneurysm trying to pick one song out of all the songs that have affected me throughout the years, I'll just pick "Stroke God, Millionaire" by Dance Gavin Dance as that is the one that I'm in love with right now.

Jon: "Disappear" by Issues

8. What do you want people to get from your music?

Naveed: Whether they get it from listening to our music or following our growth as a band, I want people to be inspired to hold themselves to a high standard of excellence in every aspect of their lives.

Thomas: Whatever they need at the time!

Vito: :D

Jon: Intricate riffs that guitarists want to learn how to play, melodies people could move to, and lyrics to help people with their daily struggles.

The thing I like most is that these guys are genuine and working their tails off at getting gigs and playing more music whenever they can.

Here is their music video for their newest single “All Systems Go” with new music coming out this summer!